Bromine, a member of the halogen family, is a minor component in geochemistry with low concentration in the crust and few mineral forms. Discovered by Balard in 1826, bromine was first prepared in quantity in 1860.
Chemistry
Bromine has an atomic number of 35, average atomic mass of 79.904, and atomic radius of 1.95 Å. Under standard conditions, it occurs as a reddish brown liquid with a melting point of –7.2°C and a boiling point of 58.8°C.
As a member of the halogen element family, bromine has the characteristic S2P5 electron outer shell configuration. Bromine and the other members of the halogen family may form diatomic gas molecules, but more commonly occur as aqueous monovalent ions or salts. Bromine has one predominant oxidation state (–1).
Of the 18 isotopic masses of bromine, none of the radioactive nuclei have half lives long enough for dating geologic materials. Two of the isotopic masses are stable (81Br and 79Br), but measurement of the ratio of these masses is not...
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Bibliography
Correns, C.W. (1956) The geochemistry of the halogens, in Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 1 (ed. L.H. Ahrens). New York: Pergamon Press, pp. 187–233.
Schilling, J.-G., Unni, C.K. and Bender, M.L. (1978) Origin of chlorine and bromine in the oceans. Nature, 273, 631–6.
Urey, H.C. (1953) The concentration of certain elements at the earth's surface. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. A, 219, 281–330.
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© 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Kaufmann, R.S. (1998). Bromine . In: Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4496-8_36
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